


Sherlock sickfics

by Enolaholmes468



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Couch Cuddles, Depression, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:21:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28038366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enolaholmes468/pseuds/Enolaholmes468
Summary: A series of one-shots, sickfics, John and Sherlock being cute.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. John doesn’t understand

**Author's Note:**

> I know I said Friday but it’s only just Sunday so I hope that’s acceptable. 
> 
> Sherlock isn’t feeling well but tries to hide and then when he admits it John is skeptical.

Sherlock woke up and groaned something was wrong. He sat up and hissed he ached all over, he went to stand up and stood still for a moment as his head felt like it was being squeezed. He walked the short distance into the living room and fell onto the sofa heavily intending to stay there for as long as possible.

But today luck wasn’t on his side, almost immediately after he sat down his phone rang. He reached forward and picked it up answering it with a very gruff hello. It was Lestrade he needed help the case sounded like a 6 something he could do whilst feeling like this but not so easy that it was pointless. He agreed to come hung up and sighed, he shouted on John and quickly got into his suit. About ten minutes later they were rushing out the door. They almost immediately got a taxi.

Something was up John knew it the genius sitting next to him in the taxi was acting stranger than usual. As they had rushed out of the door he had been swaying slightly and his eyes seemed glassy like he wasn’t actually there. He was sitting quietly with his eyes closed, normally he would be talking about possible theories. John knew what was going on all the signs were there but he didn’t want to believe it, surely Sherlock wasn’t using again.

Sherlock sat there in the taxi nursing a terrible headache, the harsh lights of the city around him had been aggravating it so he closed his eyes. He could feel John staring at him, perhaps his friendly companion had figured out what was going on with him but he wasn’t ready to admit that he wasn’t feeling well yet. 

They arrived at the crime scene and the minute Sherlock got out of the taxi he started shivering, he could tell from everyone else’s attire that it wasn’t a cold day. He screwed his eyes shut for a second against the harsh lights and the squeezing pounding sensation in his head. He opened his eyes again and proceeded forwards John staying quite close to him. Sherlock looked over the body solved the case and was explaining it to Lestrade but his throat was starting to burn. He suddenly felt quite weak, he needed to sit down but he didn’t want to arouse suspicion so he decided to signal to Greg that he should offer him a seat. Due to Sherlock’s experiences with Lestrade over the years he knew what triggered the idea of sitting down in the man’s subconscious. Soon he was sitting down and wrapping up the case. John came in just as Sherlock finished speaking and suggested they go home.

Sherlock agreed a little too quickly which caused an odd look from both men and a couple of whispers about John and Sherlock’s relationship in the corridor. John was walking faster than Sherlock for once and had hailed a cab before Sherlock had caught up with him which given how he was feeling he was grateful for. John kept giving Sherlock glares in the taxi on the way home and Sherlock couldn’t figure out why. When they got back to 221b Baker Street John went straight to his room and slammed the door. Sherlock hissed at the noise and thought he was rather childish to slam doors. Sherlock really was starting to wonder what he had done wrong but his mind was slightly fuzzy and he couldn’t figure out what he might have said. He quickly got into his pyjamas and dressing gown and lay on the sofa, he didn’t turn the tv on but closed the blinds and turned all the lights off. 

John was so angry how could Sherlock be so stupid he had promised John that he wouldn’t use again. Yet here he was it was quite obvious Sherlock had broken his promise. John never wanted to look at Sherlock again but he hadn’t heard any movement from him in about half an hour and he wanted to check he hadn’t overdosed. He went downstairs to find Sherlock lying on the sofa in the dark he could hear Sherlock’s breathing it sounded laboured and thick. John was concerned for a minute was his friend unconscious or just asleep? He gently shook him, Sherlock awoke with a start. John flicked the light on and Sherlock hissed. “John” Sherlock croaked and started coughing, “I don’t feel very well.” John had had enough of course the great buffoon didn’t feel well he was obviously coming down from his drug high. Sherlock sneezed violently breaking John from his thoughts and causing him to go into a long and loud rant about the danger of drugs. He finished and was catching his breath again when he finally stopped to survey Sherlock. His complexion was extremely pale and yet his cheeks were flushed that was normally a sign of fever not drugs. His eyes were still quite glassy which after this amount of time they normally weren’t. It also want normal for Sherlock to sneeze after taking drugs.

John was starting to feel very guilty and placed his hand on Sherlock’s forehead. Sure enough it was far too warm. John sighed “Sorry” he said “I shouldn’t have assumed, I should have known that you would never break your promise to me.” Sherlock sighed in relief now that John knew what was going on. He busied himself making Sherlock tea and honey and giving him medicine and putting a cloth on his head to bring down the fever. After Sherlock had comfortably fallen asleep his breathing less laborious Lestrade phoned. John took the call in his room so as not to disturb Sherlock who was on the sofa. 

“Hi Greg I didn’t expect you to phone, everything alright?”  
“Everything is fine this end, I was calling to check on Sherlock he didn’t look too well towards the end of the case today.”  
“Poor thing has a fever and admitted to me he wasn’t feeling well. But I went wrong I shouted at him for ages I thought he’d been using how could I have got it so wrong Greg?”  
“ I have known him longer and I have only just noticed the small signs that tell you he’s not well don’t beat yourself up it’s totally understandable given his record.”  
“Thanks Greg,”  
“No problem I’m going to leave you to look after him now goodbye.”  
“Goodbye.”

John returned to the sofa where Sherlock was laying and stroked his hair in a soothing way. Sherlock signed happily in his sleep. John knew that his friend would be ok after a few days bedrest and was glad that he had admitted he wasn’t feeling well before it was so bad they had to go to hospital. Next time John wouldn’t shout at him, he would consider the possibility that although Sherlock didn’t like to admit it, he was human and that meant he wasn’t invincible.


	2. A day off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock is struggling but Mycroft has his back in his own weird way.

It was a cold and rainy day and Sherlock woke up and stared out his window and instantly knew he wasn’t going to leave the flat that day. He felt really low and mentally he was struggling he needed to do something about it. He groaned loudly and coughed a couple of times and then rubbed the side of his nose until he sneezed. John came into his room at that moment concern in his eyes.  
“Sherlock are you ok?”  
“I don’t feel very well John”  
“You poor thing you do look pale, do you want me to stay home from the clinic today to look after you?” John asked softly.  
Sherlock shook his head which told John that he had a sore throat. John made him some tea and honey and left for work. Once he was at work he was so busy he didn’t have enough time to worry about Sherlock. 

Sherlock stayed in his bed and stared out the window his mind wandering as he sipped at his tea. Mycroft had just arrived at work and looked at the data on his brother. He noticed that he hadn’t left his bed yet but despite that John had left. Sherlock hadn’t been near anyone ill recently which meant that Sherlock had sent his signal. Mycroft went to Anthea and told her that he had some personal matters to attend to and would be gone for the day.

Sherlock was just about to fall asleep again when he heard a knock at his door he got up and went to open it. He wasn’t surprised to find Mycroft at the door he let him in and went to sit on the sofa.  
“Hello brother mine, you signalled for me.”  
“Indeed I did, I needed to talk to you.”  
“I’m glad you called for me what’s wrong brother dear.”  
Sherlock opened his mouth as though he was about to say something but instead started crying silently. Mycroft, who despite caring deeply about his brother was no good at brotherly affection, sat there unsure of what to do. He settled for a pat on the back, Sherlock smiled at him in return but it was a sad smile that broke Mycroft’s heart. Sherlock opened his mouth to explain what was going on when there was a knock at the door. Unsure who it could be Sherlock got under a blanket and closed his eyes and Mycroft went to open the door.

“Ah, hello detective inspector.”  
“Morning Mycroft I was hoping to speak with your brother.”  
“Come on in” Mycroft said and gestured for Lestrade to go through to the sitting room. Lestrade walked in to find Sherlock sitting up on the sofa looking worse for ware.  
“Sherlock are you ok?” Lestrade asked worry evident in his tone.  
“My dear brother isn’t feeling too well he seems to have caught a nasty fever and so I have come to look after him.”  
“How nice of you Mycroft I’m surprised John didn’t stay to look after him.”  
“John offered” croaked Sherlock helpfully, “But I declined he has to help others at work.”  
“How thoughtful of you Sherlock, well I hope you feel better soon mate.”  
With that Lestrade left and Mycroft rejoined his brother on the sofa.

“Nice to know so many people care about you isn’t it brother mine.”  
“Yes, I suppose so, it doesn’t help though.”  
“I know, I know exactly how you feel.”  
Both Holmes brothers had been through so much it made sense that they both struggled with their mental health. They were both always there for each other in their own way. Sherlock decided to tell Mycroft how he was feeling. He explained that he had been feeling really low and depressed and that he had been hiding it from John, it was clear John had been getting suspicious recently however and he needed an outlet. Mycroft knew not to trust his brother with antidepressants and sharp objects as Sherlock had a history of trying to hurt himself. He had tried therapy for his brother but it hadn’t worked they weren’t meant for other people. The only thing that worked for them was each other. Mycroft suggested that he tell his skull what was up when he was feeling low and in doing so would avoid telling John and might help himself. To be honest Mycroft was running out of ideas but he would never give up. Sherlock agreed to his idea.

Sherlock and Mycroft sat in silence for a while staring at the tv which wasn’t actually switched on. After a while John got home from work, he came in to find Sherlock asleep and Mycroft perched on the end of the sofa trying not to disrupt his brother. John came into the room and Mycroft went to leave.  
“Give him a day or two and I reckon he will be feeling well again. Lestrade has been informed and won’t disturb you.” With that he left the flat and got into a taxi. John walked over to Sherlock and was just about to feel Sherlock’s temperature when he woke himself up coughing. John felt to bad for his friend. He must be feeling pretty bad if Mycroft was round.

John had been suspicious of Sherlock for days something had seemed wrong all week. He kept looking sad when he thought no one was looking and every so often he would sniff as though he was trying to hold in a sneeze. John had considered broaching the subject many times but decided against it. He was starting to wish he hadn’t ignored it, he would nurse Sherlock back to health and have him fighting fit in no time at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave any suggestions for new chapters in the comments section and I will try to do all of them.


	3. John feels ill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John tries to ignore his illness for fear of what Sherlock might think.

John was in the living room lying on the sofa he sniffed and started coughing. He wasn’t feeling well but he didn’t want Sherlock to know. Sherlock could be unbelievably naive about some things. He had not noticed that John wasn’t acting normally. He had just paraded around being his usual obnoxious self. Now that John had made it to the sofa he was determined not to move again. 

Sherlock was in his room bored when his phone rang. It was Lestrade with a case. Sherlock shouted on John and they ran out of the door, they got in a taxi and drove to the crime scene. John was struggling to hold in his coughs, there was no way he could cough without Sherlock noticing. He sat quietly and stared out of the window. After a while they reached the crime scene and got out of the taxi to meet Greg. They walked over to him, he filled Sherlock in and took them to the body. John got down on the floor and examined the body and gave Sherlock the information he had gathered. His voice was quite husky and Sherlock stored that in his mind but now was not the time to address it. Sherlock continued to asses the body and had soon figured out his next move.

Lestrade was very concerned about John he seemed rather pale and whenever Sherlock wasn’t looking he would cough. His cough sounded rather harsh and his eyes looked a little glassy. Lestrade was aware that Sherlock was about to drag an obviously ill John into danger and have him run all over the city so he intervened.   
“Sherlock once you have figured out what you are going to do next why don’t you go off with Donovan I need to discuss something with John.”  
“Donovan won’t work with me” Sherlock replied gruffly. Donovan however had taken one look at John and decided it was best she went with Sherlock.  
“Today I will work with you.” Sherlock looked a little shocked but tried to hide it. He left with Donovan and John and Lestrade were left alone. 

Lestrade looked at John, “Why didn’t you tell him?”  
“Tell who what?”  
“Sherlock that you weren’t feeling well he’s not entirely inhuman. In fact one time I told him I wasn’t feeling well and he was really nice to me about it.”  
“Really? I thought it would freak him out.”   
“No way.”  
John sighed and Greg led him away from the body and out to his car, he drove him home and left him asleep on the sofa. 

Sherlock arrived home to find an ashen John on the sofa, if it wasn’t for the blanket covering him he may have mistaken him for a corpse. He gently shook John awake, John coughed loudly and sighed. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at Sherlock. Sherlock was quite surprised John hadn’t mentioned that he was ill earlier it looked quite nasty whatever he had. Sherlock put his cool hand against John’s forehead and John sighed in relief. He felt safe and content knowing that Sherlock’s first reaction wasn’t to run away from him. John looked at Sherlock and tears formed in his eyes, they quietly slid down his face.   
“John, are you ok?” Sherlock asked softly.  
John shook his head.  
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”  
John shrugged.  
Sherlock gave John a really tight hug and whispered soothingly into John’s ear. He reassured John that he was going to be ok and then busier himself looking after John. 

It took three days before John began to feel better because he pushed himself too far on the first day. Sherlock helped him throughout and made sure that John was comfortable and as happy as possible. He may be quite tough at times but he had a soft spot.


	4. Sherlock feels ill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock is feeling under the weather but tries to ignore it.

Sherlock woke up and stretched, he got out of bed and went downstairs. John was waiting downstairs making breakfast.  
“Smells good” Sherlock said and grimaced slightly his throat hurting as he spoke.  
“Thanks” John replied cheerily.  
The rest of the morning went without incident but Sherlock’s throat continued to hurt, by the afternoon it hurt constantly not just while he spoke.  
“What would you like for dinner?” John asked, Sherlock thought about it and answered.  
“Beans on toast.” He said, John looked at him a look of confusion on his face, Sherlock only asked for that when he was stuck on a case and often the next day he would disappear into his room and emerge a week later with the solution. 

John made dinner and they both ate it in front of a film. Sherlock was beginning to get a headache and the longer the film went on the colder the room seemed to get. Sherlock slid under the blanket on the sofa and tried not to shiver. After the film finished John went to bed, Sherlock was grateful it meant that he could have an early night without arousing suspicion. He went to bed hoping he would feel better in the morning.

Morning came and Sherlock woke up and stretched and immediately wanted to go back to sleep. His throat was in agony his headache was still there and he ached all over. He was sure it must be close to freezing in his room, he was shivering, teeth chattering. He sneezed, wow it must be cold he thought I only ever sneeze in cold weather. He was just about to get out of bed when John came in breathless.  
“BIG CASE... LESTRADE NEEDS... YOU.” Sherlock kept out of bed and got ready to go out to the crime scene, they both went together and Sherlock solved it in ten minutes. Lestrade looked rather embarrassed when Sherlock solved it so quickly. Sherlock was glad to be on his way home so quickly, his head was starting to feel fuzzy. He fell asleep for a second in the taxi.

“Sherlock, Sherlock we're here, get out of your mind palace.” John said as he awoke with a start.  
“Ah, yes, sorry.” Sherlock said to John and the driver, Sherlock got out of the taxi and walked up the stairs, he got into his apartment and sat down on the sofa.  
“Tea?” John asked.  
“Yes please, with honey” Sherlock replied.

John made the tea without question and settled down on the sofa next to Sherlock. They started watching something on tv. John made lunch and Sherlock nibbled at it, he hadn’t got much of an appetite at the moment. John kept up conversation with him, he was used to Sherlock ignoring him and not replying, so when Sherlock was quiet in response he wasn’t concerned. Eventually John asked a question that wasn’t rhetorical and Sherlock answered with a croaky voice.  
“This is why you shouldn’t be quiet for so long,” John said “Your voice falls asleep.”

That evening as the two were eating dinner John was talking about the clinic when Sherlock started coughing, John thought Sherlock was choking and came round the table to pat Sherlock’s back.  
“I’m fine, I’m fine stop fussing.” Sherlock croaked.  
They both read the paper after dinner and drank tea in the living room.

“John...” Sherlock whispered breaking the silence. John looked up from the paper and saw that Sherlock had gone whiter than his paper.  
“Is everything ok?” John asked.  
“Not really, John I don’t feel well.” Sherlock croaked.

Sherlock explained all his symptoms to John and John listened patiently and then felt Sherlock’s forehead.  
“You have a fever, why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well earlier?” John asked. Sherlock shrugged looking miserable and upset. John rubbed his back gently and gave him some medicine. He went and got a wet flannel and placed it on Sherlock’s forehead and got a blanket which he placed over Sherlock on the sofa. He would do everything to take care of his friend and make sure he was feeling back to normal as soon as possible.

Sherlock was a pretty easy patient, despite what people might think Sherlock was generally quite well behaved when he was ill. On no time at all he was back to his usual self.


	5. Rainy days part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John gets caught in the rain on his way back from the clinic.

John had had a long day at the clinic and all he wanted to do was get home. It had been pretty warm that morning so John hadn’t brought any extra layers which given the current rain was a mistake. John was too tired to wait for the rain to stop, he left work and put his headphones on, he actually enjoyed walking home in the rain even when it was 5° outside. He was the kind of person that didn’t get cold easily and he was really enjoying walking to music. He liked walking to and from work it helped him keep fit enough to keep up with Sherlock when people were trying to kill them. 

John continued to walk through the dark streets, street lamps lighting up his way. The rain was pouring down really heavily, the rain was dripping from his eyelashes and running down his forehead. His clothes were soaked through to the bone. He arrived home and went up to his bedroom. He got out of his clothes and into his pyjamas, he knew he should get into the shower and warm up so his body didn’t stay cold but he was just so tired. He got into bed instead of going for his usual evening cup of tea. He fell asleep intending to close his eyes for a mere 5 minutes, he woke up 3 hours later at 8:15pm. He stretched and realised he had a headache he rubbed his temples to try and relieve the pain slightly. He could smell something really nice wafting up the stairs. He went downstairs to investigate.

He saw Sherlock cooking and he was confused, perhaps his headache was worse than he thought. Sherlock looked up as he came in.  
“Hi John, how was work?”  
“Long and tiring,” John sighed.  
“I didn’t want to say but you look exhausted.”  
“Thanks,” John said sarcastically, sitting heavily on the sofa. Despite the sleep he still felt exhausted he yawned and tried not to fall back asleep as it was obvious Sherlock was going to have dinner ready soon. 

As expected about ten minutes later Sherlock was calling John to the table for dinner. John went and enjoyed the food Sherlock had lovingly prepared for him and they chatted about their days. John noticed that he had to clear his throat multiple times whilst he was eating with Sherlock. When he went to take a sip of his water his throat hurt so he tried it again the same thing happened. Sherlock looked concerned all of a sudden.

“John are you ok?” Sherlock asked.  
“I have a terrible headache,” John replied.  
“Oh dear, can I get you anything?” Sherlock asked softly trying not to aggravate John’s headache.  
“Could you possibly get me a cup of tea?” John asked slightly croaky.  
Sherlock immediately went to the kettle and made John a cup of tea. He also got John a blanket and settled down on the sofa beside him. Within minutes John was asleep on Sherlock’s shoulder. Sherlock wasn’t really accustomed to John being touchy-feely but he sat patiently watching tv and let John rest on him. After a while Sherlock also fell asleep. 

Sherlock woke up to John rummaging around in the kitchen cupboards. He sat up and looked at John puzzled, it was too early for his deducting skills to be engaged.  
“John, what are you doing?” Sherlock asked quietly. John looked at him, even in the dim kitchen light it was obvious he had gone a couple of shades paler than his normal complexion. He had large bags under his eyes which made it look like he hadn’t slept in weeks.  
“I’m just looking for some painkillers my headache got slightly worse and I can’t sleep.” John whisper croaked, it was quite obvious John was loosing his voice. He stopped looking for a minute and started coughing a lot. Sherlock came into the kitchen and told John to sit down, he found John some painkillers and gave them to him with a glass of water, John nodded in thanks.

Sherlock joined John back on the sofa and rubbed his back comfortingly. John smiled at him but his eyes were sad and slightly glassy. Sherlock went and got the thermometer and took John’s temperature, he looked at it puzzled. “Is it that bad?” John asked worried.  
“No, I don’t know, remember when I said I forget useless information and store only the important information unlike most people?” Sherlock asked sheepishly.  
“Yes I remember that.”  
“I don’t know anything about body temperature, what’s high and what’s low?”  
“Well I should register at anything under 38° normally, anything over is a fever. Anything above 40.5° I should probably go to a doctor about.” John croaked.  
“So 38.9° is ok?”  
“Yes but it does mean I have a fever and I should take tomorrow off work.” John sighed.  
“I will stay and look after you just let me call Lestrade.”

Sherlock called Lestrade and he answered, slightly alarmed considering it was midnight and Sherlock often nearly got killed. After Sherlock assured him he was fine, he relaxed. He tensed a little when he heard about John but he wasn’t too worried the man was a doctor after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a part 2 possibly later today, at the very least by Friday.


	6. Rainy days part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John isn’t feeling well so Sherlock is looking after him.

John was starting to feel really ill, he was beginning to think walking in the cold rain wasn’t a smart decision. He wanted nothing more than to stay in bed all day whilst Sherlock looked after him. He was glad Sherlock had taken his temperature otherwise he would’ve gone into work that day and regretted it pretty quickly. Normally with these things it seemed worst in the morning but John felt worse as the morning wore on. 

Sherlock was concerned about John, he never normally got ill. He was normally always well and bouncy but today he seemed quite the opposite. He was still and subdued, Sherlock knew that John was tough and had he been given the chance he would’ve gone into work despite the raging fever. Sherlock was in awe, he knew he was reckless but when he became ill he messaged Mycroft and would be looked after by him instead of gallivanting around the place. 

John groaned and rolled over in his bed, there was no longer a cold patch, the whole bed seemed warm and John was uncomfortable. Sherlock came in holding what looked like painkillers and John nearly wept, the headache that had been bad last night was now so bad he felt like his head was being shredded. He felt hot and cold at the same time and his throat was so rough from all the coughing. His nose was no so red it would rival Rudolph’s. 

Sherlock sensed John’s discomfort and offered to play the violin for him. John accepted and Sherlock ran downstairs to get his violin and then took it up to John’s room. He had composed a new piece especially for John and thought now was the best time to play it for him. John started crying and Sherlock grew concerned.  
“You didn’t like it?” Sherlock asked.  
“No it’s not that, it’s absolutely beautiful and I love it I just don’t deserve you, you’re being so kind when it’s my fault I didn’t take a coat so I am now ill, you haven’t blamed me once. You just care for me and I can’t believe you’re mine.”  
“Oh John, I don’t deserve you, I’m selfish and I’m arrogant and I am not nice to people who deserve it, I only care about answers and clues and deductions and... You.”  
Sherlock looked at John and smiled at the man lying before him. John smiled back sadly through tears, Sherlock quickly ran out of the room.

John sat quietly, he’d really ruined things now. He had scared Sherlock off with all his emotions and now Sherlock would run away for a bit and John would have to suffer alone. Perhaps Lestrade would come and look after him. Just then Sherlock burst through the door holding something. He crouched down beside John’s bed right by his head and put one leg forwards so he was only resting on one knee. He brought forward the box he was holding and opened it so John could see it’s contents. John gasped.

“Will you marry me?” Sherlock asked.  
“Of course!” John shouted despite his lack of voice.  
“I was goi be to be more romantic but I just couldn’t wait any longer I need you in my life always John, always, no matter what. I will always be here for you.”  
“Thank you,” John whispered his throat trying to rip itself open, or at least that’s how it felt, but John wouldn’t let that get in the way. They were so happy in the moment and Sherlock was so relieved to not have to hide this any longer, scared that John would ask first.


End file.
